Saturday, November 17, 2012

Hostess Brands is closed after the
Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International
Union (BCTGM) starting striking and crippled the company’s
ability to produce and deliver products at multiple facilities.

18,000+ employees, many not BCTGM union members, who have now lost their livelihoods, the collateral damage from a brand such as Hostess closing, are the people who work at Hostess outlets across the country.

Not
only will consumers no longer be able to find the sliced bread or cream
filled rolls on grocery shelves, but one local business will be
closing its doors.

The Hostess Bakery Outlet, 1438 N. 24th Quincy, will
close at 4:00 p.m. Monday, November 19 for good. Locally, the move
affects three employees. Nationwide, about 18,500 of Hostess's employees
will lose their jobs.

A representative from the Bakery Outlet said "We knew this might happen with the bakers union being on strike."

She added the store has seen an increase in customers this week and will most likely not have any food left come close Monday.

Shoppers at two Hostess-affiliated bakery stores in central Maine were
sad and nostalgic on Friday following news that the company will close.

[...]

At the J.J. Nissen Hostess Bakery Outlet on Leighton Road in Augusta, a
store clerk who said she couldn't speak to the media confirmed the store
will close. Another clerk working the register told customers to stock
up, saying the store will likely close in a few weeks.

News of Hostess Brands ceasing operations reaches beyond the company’s Emporia plant to the Capital City

Also
affected are the many outlet stores which sell hostess products like
the store on South Kansas Ave. in Topeka that sells Wonder Bread and
other baked goods.

The outlet is among 570 bakery stores across the country that will shut down after it sells off its remaining items.

The store employs two full-time and two part-time employees.

Customer
Norma Juhnke heard the Hostess news Friday morning and went to the
store to stock up on some of the treats for her family. ”I made a
special trip to the Hostess place because they're going out of business
and I wanted Hostess Twinkies and Suzy Q's and Ding Dongs and all the
things that my children grew up with so that my grandchildren can have
that experience also,” said Norma

A Dolly Madison outlet in North Topeka will also close after its inventory is gone.
That location on northwest Topeka Blvd. has three employees.

The decision by Hostess Brands Inc. to shutter all its operations
will result in the closure of Hostess outlets stores in Camarillo,
Glendale and Chatsworth.

The three locations are among the 570 bakery outlet stores Hostess
has throughout the United States. The three area stores employed about
65 workers. Hostess has a total workforce of 18,500 employees.

Hostess Brands, the maker of classic baked goods Twinkie and Ding
Dongs, filed for bankruptcy protection in January. The company on Nov.
16 filed a motion seeking permission from the bankruptcy court to close
its business and sell off its assets due to a strike by employees
represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain
Millers International Union.

Hostess Brands Inc.
announced Friday it is going out business and by late morning, customers
were arriving at the Merita Bakery Outlet Store, 370 S. Nova Road, for
their last orders of Twinkies, Ho Hos and bread.

Nobody from the store would comment but customers said they were told the store would close Saturday.

"Bakery
operations have been suspended at all plants. Delivery of products will
continue and Hostess Brands retail stores will remain open for several
days in order to sell already-baked products," Hostess Brands said
Friday in a statement.

Tuesday will be the final day in operation for the Hostess outlet store at 622 E. Jackson St.

The
closure comes in the wake of the Hostess Brands Friday morning
announcement that it would liquidate its bakery business and lay off
most of the company's 18,500 employees.

Debbie
Davis, the lead clerk of the Macomb store, said she, seven other
full-time employees and one part-timer will be unemployed after Tuesday.
In spite of receiving notice about losing her job, she remained upbeat
Friday afternoon as she greeted customers in search of Twinkies, Ding
Dongs and the other iconic snack cakes Hostess is known for.

Hostess bakeries in the Little Rock area are expected to shut down after the company's announcement that it is going out of business.

Lue Kelley, a clerk at a Hostess outlet on Geyer Springs Road, said employees were told on a conference call that the stores would all be closing. Hostess also has a location on MacArthur Drive in North Little Rock.

These are just the immediate reports a day after a judge approved the Hostess closings, outlet stores that carried Hostess Brand exclusively will continue to close down over the next week.

Just collateral damage for the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International
Union.